Naruto on My Mind
by encyser
Summary: I’m impressed you pulled it off. Nobody suspected it was you who did it, not even me. All the details—everything told me that it was done by only one person, and that was not you. But everything went wrong....


**_Disclaimer_**: This story is based on characters created and owned by Kishimoto Masashi. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. Only the plot is original.

* * *

"You've gotta be kidding me!"

It was Mission Day again for the Konohamaru Corps. Once or twice a week, Konohamaru, Udon, Moegi and Ebisu-sensei would present themselves in the Ninja Academy's main assembly hall, which doubled as the Hokage's Mission Office. Inside, they would come before a panel consisting of the village council, Tsunade the Fifth Hokage, and Iruka-sensei. Hokage-sama would read a list of missions to the team; some bargaining and swapping would be allowed, depending on the past successes of the team with their missions, and the Hokage's mood. Genin shinobi like Konohamaru's team were given considerable leeway, as the missions assigned to them were not life-threatening, both to them and the persons they would be assigned to. Chuunin and jounin did not have that option, though, and simply took the job given them.

So far, this shinobi team had had four consecutive successful D-class missions. They were relatively easy ones: Moving furniture into a third-floor apartment, harvesting turnips, bathing a pet shop's dogs and arranging the books of a library. Because of that, Konohamaru felt confident the Hokage would not deny them a higher ranking mission, and he was right. However….

"You were asking for a C-class mission, but you don't sound like you like it."

"But a dead woman? Isn't that supposed to be a job for ANBU? Couldn't you give us a bodyguard-type job?"

"The woman is not dead; she's just missing. The man who found her bleeding severely left her to call for help but when he came back a minute later there was no trace left of her." Tsunade leaned back. "All that was left behind was a package of ramen she was carrying."

Konohamaru's eyes narrowed. "Ramen? If there's ramen involved, Naruto-niichan did it. Case closed." He grinned. "Heh, this is easier than I thought."

"Konohamaru!" Iruka-sensei's voice filled the hall. "Stop jumping to such stupid conclusions! You should take this mission seriously if you're going to accept it."

Udon and Moegi cringed; they knew too well what happened every time Iruka-sensei raised his voice. As the Academy's representative, he could make recommendations to the Hokage based on the abilities of the genin who show up for mission assignments. If Konohamaru went too far with his whining, he might wind up sending his team into some farm, cleaning the stables.

The Fifth Hokage raised her hand for silence. "Now, now, there's no need to react like that. Yes, it's true that this is an ANBU-level operation, but all ANBU teams are occupied enough as it is. I need this case completed by the end of the day." She fixed her eyes on Konohamaru and smiled. "So you see, this is high priority on my list. That's why I'm giving this to your team. I am highly confident that you will be able to solve this investigation with no difficulty."

Iruka-sensei crossed his fingers under the table. This mission was C-level, not ANBU-level! And surely Konohamaru himself would notice, he had been hanging around his grandfather the Third Hokage long enough to tell the difference! Would he take the bait?

"Really?" Konohamaru's face brightened.

"Of course! I expect no less from the Konohamaru Corps!"

"Wow! Hokage-sama likes us!" Moegi was delighted.

"That's because we're the best!" Konohamaru grinned.

Iruka realized he was holding his breath!

Hokage-sama steepled her fingers; this negotiation was as good as done. "So, do you accept this mission?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama!"

"Good! I want a full report of this case before the end of the day. Now get out there and give it your best!"

Konohamaru snapped a salute and led his team out the hall.

"Nice pep talk," Iruka murmured.

"Why, thank you." Tsunade flashed him a big smile. "It really takes a lot of motivation to keep our genin happy with small jobs like this. You've got to show them it's something that only they can handle, no matter how insignificant, and that what they accomplish is for the greater good of the village."

"I agree with that," Iruka nodded, "but don't you think this is a little unfair? Without any evidence, even the Military Police department would just consider this an open-and-shut case. What kind of report will you be expecting tonight, Hokage-sama?"

"We'll see. From what Ebisu has told me, Konohamaru wants to be Hokage, and he sees Naruto as an idol and a rival."

The next shinobi team entered the room. Tsunade leaned towards Iruka and whispered:

"And I want to see what results this little rivalry will bring."

* * *

"This is gonna be **_so _**cool!" Moegi exclaimed.

"Yeah, we'll be like detectives or something," said Udon.

"So let's stay on our toes, team," Konohamaru added. "We have another chance to show that we're the best genin team in Konoha!" _Plus, another step closer to Hokagehood,_ he thought to himself.

Ebisu stared at the sky; it was going to be a good day. His wards were heading to the location of the incident. According to the reports, a woman was running down the street when a rampaging bull appeared from the corner and injured her. The owner of the bull tried to assist her but somehow she managed to get to away from the crowd. The man who made the report found her in an abandoned back alley not far from the scene of the accident, leaning against one corner and bleeding profusely. She seemed too weak to last much longer so he eased her down and went to look for help. She was nowhere to be found when he returned.

"And that is where she was leaning," Konohamaru pointed to the far wall. The ground on the dead-end alley had become dry enough to preserve the footprints that described the commotion that happened there. They went to the wall one by one, taking care not to step on any of the prints.

"Do you notice something weird?"

"Yeah, there's no blood."

"I don't even smell it."

The take-out box had fallen to one section of the alley near the footprints, its contents spilling to the ground. The broth had already been absorbed by the earth.

"A-ha! A clue!"

"It's a spilled box of ramen!"

"And it's made a spot on the ground!"

Ebisu cleared his throat and adjusted his tinted spectacles. "Young Master, I can see this will truly require the three of you to sharpen your deductive skills."

"Right. Our first challenge: Uncover why the ground is wet with ramen!"

Ebisu adjusted his shades some more. His knuckles were turning white from clenching his fist in frustration.

Udon raised his quivering hand. "I-I'll take the challenge! Let me do it!"

"I know you can solve this, Udon-kun!" Konohamaru gave him a thumbs-up.

So Udon ran off, away from the alley.

Konohamaru faced Moegi. "And what will you be doing, Moegi-chan?"

The young kunoichi's face lit up. "Well, the label of the box says Ichiraku Ramen, so I'll ask a few questions about the case there."

"Ebisu-sensei will join you. I'll stay here and seal off this area. Let's all meet at the Hokage's place when we're done."

"Okay!"

* * *

The Konoha Ninja Academy had taught Udon that two conditions should be met in order to conduct a proper forensic investigation. One condition was external; the investigator should be physically fit, not hampered by any illness or disease or disability. Whatever handicap he had should not stop him from completing his assignment. He should also be properly equipped with the right tools in order to gather evidence and data.

The second condition was internal; the investigator should also be mentally and emotionally prepared in approaching his task. His mind should be free from any preconceived notions as to how his investigation would turn out. His heart should also be unburdened from any biases, conflicts of interest or any type of stress that would keep him from reaching the conclusion to which the evidence pointed. Any deviation from these conditions could seriously affect the case he was studying.

When Udon volunteered, he realized that he could not fulfill those two conditions. He wanted the case so badly that his whole body was shaking; he was too excited. He did not bring any data-collecting tools with him, either. Also, nature was calling.

So he ran off, screaming all the way to calm himself down. He ran to the nearest public restroom and relieved himself. And having done his duty, he went to the nearest store and bought a foot rule, a notebook, some pencils, a small roll of 1 inch transparent adhesive tape and some transparency sheets. Then, placing them in his backpack, he went back to the alley, where Konohamaru was waiting.

"Hey, Udon-kun, are you ready now?"

Udon nodded. "Uh-huh. Do you still have your camera with you?"

"Yup, it even has a fresh roll of film."

"Great, let's take some pictures."

Konohamaru brought out his camera and took a shot of Udon standing there.

"What was that for, Konohamaru-kun?"

"Good luck shots. Don't you want one?"

"But we need the film for the crime scene."

"Don't worry. There's enough film in this baby." Udon could swear Konohamaru's teeth were glinting in the sun as he smiled and gave a thumbs-up. "Now, it's my turn."

Okay, if you say so." Udon reached for the camera and took a shot of Konohamaru grinning and holding out his hand with the V-sign.

Handing back the camera, Udon said, "Alright, now let's get to work." Under his directions, Konohamaru took shots of the alley's layout, the footprints and the ramen while Udon drew a diagram of them and made notes. Udon pulled out his foot rule and laid them beside one footprint and then another, while Konohamaru recorded the measurements with his camera.

"What did you put in your notebook?"

Udon showed his diagram to Konohamaru. "The alley has two sets of footprints; the smaller set ran to the far right corner there," he pointed to the location, "and from the looks of things the person tried to scale over the dead end by jumping at the walls. It didn't work, though."

"That would be the lady."

"That's her, alright." Pointing at his drawing, he continued. "The bigger set of footprints would be from the man who reported the incident. He was running to the middle of the alley and slowed down when he saw her by the corner. He walked up to her and helped her sit down. Then he ran out of the alley to look for help. That's when the lady disappeared."

Finally they came to the spot where the woman sat. It was marked by a shallow depression that outlined her splayed legs and drooping arms. Udon pointed to one arm with his pencil; Konohamaru snapped a picture. "See this irregular marking?"

Konohamaru looked closer. There was a small, curved dip pushing out from the depression of the arm. "Yeah, what about it?"

Udon looked at him. "It's a blood puddle."

"Okay, where did her blood go?"

"Dunno." He pointed at the long line crossing the legs. "She was wearing a miniskirt." He paused. "And judging from the wrinkles here, it got pushed up really high when she sat down."

"**_Whoa!"_**

"There's not much bleeding here. It was probably soaked up by her skirt."

"And this big impression near the wall is her bottom!"

"Stop it!"

"Hey, you started it!" Konohamaru smirked admiringly. "Sexy…."

Udon sighed and wrote down notes. He stood up and brought out a transparency sheet. Peeling off its paper covering, he went to a footprint and placed the plastic sheet over it. He performed a hand seal, channeling chakra to his hand. Then he gently slid his hand over the sheet. Dirt immediately clung to the plastic. Pleased, he returned the paper covering and put the transparency back into his backpack, then pulled out another sheet and repeated the process on another, smaller footprint. He called out to Konohamaru, who had just finished returning the remains of the ramen noodles inside the box and packing it in a clear plastic bag.

"We're done here, Konohamaru-kun."

"Not yet." He took one more shot of the spot where the box fell, and a final one of a footprint and a dent near the woman's outline, where the box first stood. The footprint was of the larger set. The box had fallen far from the lady's body. "Okay, let's go."

* * *

Meanwhile, Moegi and Ebisu-sensei made their way to Ichiraku Ramen. The stall had reached its peak period; all its seats were currently occupied and a few customers still stood while waiting for their turn.

"Eh? A missing woman ordered ramen from us?" Teuchi, the cook and owner of the ramen bar, scowled. "Look, it's still kind of busy here, but I think Ayame would be able to help you out with your questions. Right, Ayame?"

"But what about the orders, sir?"

"I can handle the orders. Just talk to the girl."

The assistant sighed and went out the ramen bar; Ebisu and Moegi followed her around the corner. Then she went to business. "All right, how can I help you?"

Moegi smiled. "Ano, we just want to know if you recall a lady who ordered a bowl of ramen from you this morning. To go."

"Well, that won't be easy to forget. She dropped by shortly after our most frequent customer left."

"Most frequent customer?"

"Uh-huh," Ayame nodded. "That blond kid, Uzumaki Naruto."

"Naruto-niichan!" Moegi's expression brightened. "Konohamaru-chan was right, after all! Anything that involves ramen will always have something to do with our leader!"

"That may be so, but I don't see how." Then Ayame corrected herself, "No, wait; I think you're right about that. The lady bumped into the boy before she came here to order. Actually…." The young woman rested her chin on her cupped hand thoughtfully. "It was more like she fell all over him."

Ebisu's brows furrowed. "I never fancied Naruto to be the type that has a fan club."

"Oh no, it's not like that at all. What I meant was, she fell on top of him."

The topic was becoming more interesting. "How about we start from the beginning, Ayame-san?"

The assistant nodded, and resumed talking:

"Ichiraku Ramen's business hours start at six o'clock in the morning, although we get up an hour earlier to set up shop; you know, bringing the noodles out of storage, heating up the soup stock, preparing the ingredients for the dishes and so on. Naruto doesn't follow a regular schedule for coming here but he does eat here at least once a day when he's in the village, and when he does, he orders at least three bowls of ramen.

"I saw him coming by about an hour after we opened, so I figured he got up at the crack of dawn today for training. Once before, when he came by one morning to have breakfast here, I asked him why he had to train so early. He told me that it was personal training, like practicing jutsus or shuriken throwing or whatever. Then he said he'd be meeting his team by the bridge after breakfast.

"Anyway, this morning he ordered a tonkotsu ramen with boiled eggs and extra pork cutlets. He had a 'free extra ramen' coupon with him; you receive one coupon good for two orders for every twenty bowls of ramen you buy from us, and he never fails to claim at least one coupon per week. That's the kind of customer he is. Before he was able to hand over the coupon, though, someone else arrived.

"I recognized her; she ate here a couple of times. She was a little bit shorter than him, and had a nice head of light pink hair, like cherry blossoms. And she was not in a good mood; she looked like she didn't get enough sleep. So the instant she saw him, the girl hauled him off his seat and pulled him away. Naruto started whining about not getting his breakfast, but that girl simply didn't want to hear any of it. She said if she was going to have to wait over three hours for their instructor to arrive, then by golly, she won't be waiting for him alone.

"I watched the two go up the street towards the direction of the bridge. Now, as they were about to reach the corner, that lady came out and crashed into Naruto. She was taller than the two kids, had straight, dark brown hair done in a pageboy cut, and wore a dark red minidress with a blue jacket. I think she tripped and lost her balance; Naruto fell over backwards and she plopped right over him.

"The pink haired girl was the only one standing; I guess she lost her grip on the poor boy when he fell. She wasted no time in pulling him back to his feet, and also helped the lady up. After they apologized to each other, she and Naruto went on their way, and the lady walked up to us and ordered a bowl of ramen. She wasn't going to eat it, though, she's just ordering out. The funny thing is, I never saw her here before, but she had a free ramen coupon, good for two. Someone must have given it to her.

"So the old man cooked up a large shoyu ramen with the works: extra pickled ginger, green onion, pork, seasoned bamboo shoots, dried seaweed, plus two soda crackers. I placed it in a plastic bowl, and packed it in a box for easier handling. It was the least we could do for her; she wanted just one bowl but she gave us a coupon good for two, so she deserves the added value, don't you think? And besides, excellent customer relations keep them coming back.

"Then I noticed Kurenai-san walking over from across the street, just as I was getting the coupon from our customer. I think she had been standing there since the lady arrived. Anyway, she stopped the woman when she was about to leave. She said she saw what happened between the lady and Naruto, and then she started accusing her of stealing Naruto's coupon! I didn't believe it; I mean, why steal from a boy, a fifteen-year old kid, right? Of course the woman denied it and walked away, back from where she came. Kurenai-san was still suspicious of her though; her red eyes looked like they could see right through you—figuratively, I mean. So she went off to follow the lady….

"…And that's what happened," Ayame finished.

"What happened to Kurenai-sensei?" Moegi asked. Ayame merely shrugged. "She must have made a report about it. We need to talk to her."

Ebisu nodded in assent. "It seems the further we dig into this rabbit hole, the curiouser and curiouser it gets."

"Don't you mean, 'the more and more curious'?" Moegi asked.

"Moegi-chan, it was an allusion to the book, 'Alice in Wonderland'. I was referring to the part where the heroine followed the White Rabbit down the rabbit hole—"

"I know you're a jounin special rank, sensei, but you don't have to make references to strange books to prove it. Nobody will understand you, anyway."

"Oh, I see. I apologize if I confused you."

Moegi beamed. "That's okay. I love you just the way you are, E-bi-su-sen-sei!" she teased.

Ebisu laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head. "Stop that. You're embarrassing me!"

* * *

Konohamaru and Udon were nearing the Hokage Building when the pair heard a loud barking behind them. Turning around, they met a fine-looking dog with a glossy coat of white fur. It was a big dog, too; no it was a _huge _dog, **_HUUUGE! _**And it started showing interest in the plastic bag that Konohamaru was carrying, stepping closer and sniffing curiously.

"Hey! Get away from the bag!" Konohamaru lifted the bag over his head, but the dog was undeterred. It stood up on its hind legs and leaned on him, pushing him against the wooden fence.

"Udon-kun, help!"

"I don't like that dog, Konohamaru-kun. It's huge!"

"Well, I don't like the dog either! Make it go away!"

"How do I do that?"

Sweat trickled down Konohamaru's cheek as he looked at Udon. The quiet boy could be great at solving mathematical equations and other problems requiring abstract reasoning and logic, but put him in life-threatening situations like a harassing dog and he would just stare blankly as if he was being spoken to by aliens from outer space.

Well, at least the dog wasn't snarling. Its nose was still pointed at the ramen over Konohamaru's head.

"Oi, Akamaru! What are you doing? Get off from the kid!"

The two boys turned to the direction of the voice. A short distance away they saw a young man walking towards them. He wore dark-colored upper and lower garments, and had a mop of brown hair and two red triangles running down his cheeks. The dog let out a short, disappointed whine and padded off to his master, releasing the boy.

Although they weren't acquainted with him personally, the two boys were quite familiar with Inuzuka Kiba. They heard the stories running around about that time two years ago when Naruto, along with Kiba and three other genin, left Konoha to pursue Uchiha Sasuke and intercept him before he reached Orochimaru, the nukenin or missing-nin who had attacked the village with his Sound nin and killed the Third Hokage. They knew that Kiba almost lost his life that time when he faced a horrible opponent, actually twins who could merge their bodies into one. Among kids who heard the tales, he was a legend.

Kiba approached the boys. "Sorry about that," he said, breaking into a face-splitting grin. "Akamaru can be a bother sometimes. Chouji kind of spoiled him like that when he dropped some of his potato chips."

"Th-thank you, Kiba-san! If you hadn't come sooner, Akamaru would've eaten our evidence."

"Evidence?" He raised his eyebrows.

Udon nodded. "Uh-huh. Hokage-sama gave us a mission to find a missing lady, and that ramen in the bag is our clue."

"Is that so?" Kiba looked doubtful. "What do you expect to get from a bowl of ramen?"

Udon raised his finger. Konohamaru rolled his eyes. _Oh boy, here comes a lecture…._

"Anything leaves a little part of itself behind every time it comes into contact with anything else, and it also takes a little bit of what it came in contact with. For example, when Akamaru pinned Konohamaru-kun to the fence, he smeared some of the dirt on his paws on Konohamaru-kun's shirt, and some bits of thread from the shirt went under his claws. And more bits of thread from the shirt stuck to the fence, while splinters of wood from the fence embedded themselves into the Konohamaru's clothes. Judging from those little bits of evidence we would learn that Konohamaru-kun got bullied by a dog."

Kiba snorted.

"Therefore, whoever touched that ramen bowl would certainly have left a trace of themselves on it. We might find their fingerprints, a fragment of their nail polish, maybe their perfume—"

"—or anything else that leaves a scent," Kiba interrupted, comprehending. "And dogs can recognize thousands of kinds of odor. A dog can track down anything based on its smell!"

Konohamaru's gaze switched back and forth from Kiba to Udon. He didn't expect the sudden turn from Udon's line of thought, but he definitely liked where it led to. An idea formed in his head. "That's right, Kiba-san. And Akamaru would be a great help in our mission, don't you think?"

Kiba broke into a wide grin. "Oh yeah, he would." He tuned to talk to Akamaru. "Hey buddy, did ya hear that? These kids are looking for somebody, and they believe she left her scent in that bowl of ramen there. Wanna sniff her out?"

Akamaru barked his assent. Kiba was elated. "Great! I knew I could count on you!" Konohamaru gave the plastic bag to him. He opened it, allowing the dog to poke his head in to catch the scent.

"Okay, now I want you to look for the person who left their scent here. Ready?"

The dog pulled his head out of the bag.

"Go!"

Akamaru promptly jumped on Konohamaru.

"G-get off me!"

Udon scratched his head. "That's not right. Did you handle the bowl with your bare hands?"

"Of course not! I used paper napkins!"

Udon sighed. _Mental note: next time, bring latex gloves._ "Kiba-san, was there any other scent in that bag?"

Kiba glanced at Akamaru, who placed his head back in the bag for another sniff. After a minute, he pulled his head back out and barked excitedly.

"He says he's caught another scent," said Kiba. "We better follow him."

The dog started to move out, sniffing the ground. Konohamaru turned to face Udon. "Take the ramen and the other evidence back to the Hokage building; I'm following Kiba-san and Akamaru."

* * *

Ebisu and Moegi found Yuuhi Kurenai as she left the Hokage Building; The jounin kunoichi intended to have a short break at the teahouse, and they decided to go with her. The three sat themselves at a table near the doorway and made their orders.

"We appreciate your kindness in assisting us on our investigation," Ebisu said as they waited for their tea and snacks. "Please excuse us for this trouble."

"No, it's no trouble at all. I'm glad to help you," Kurenai replied, smiling. Her crimson eyes sparkled, almost seeming to glow with inner light.

Ebisu drew in his breath. Watching the female jounin was always disconcerting. The color of her eyes stood out strikingly against her fair complexion, like perfect rubies. Then again everything else about her stood out, like her luxurious jet black hair that framed her lovely face. He often imagined what it felt like, running it through his fingers. Would she mind it if he pulls her head back with it when he kisses her mouth? And what would her lips taste like, for that matter? Or her lip gloss, to be exact; he assumed it was raspberry, but any other flavor would be fine. After all, it is just a short distance from her lips to her neck, and then a leisurely trip from there to her—

"Sensei?" Moegi stared at him, propping her head with her hands on the table. "You're spacing out."

"Huh? Oh—!" He laughed, embarrassed. "I'm very sorry! My mind was somewhere else."

_I know where it was,_ Moegi smiled to herself. _Ebisu and Kurenai up in the tree…._ She understood, though. Kurenai-sensei was beautiful, and Konohamaru did have a crush on her. And whatever Konohamaru said, Ebisu-sensei was not a pervert.

Regaining his composure, Ebisu continued. "Kurenai-san, I understand that you were able to spot a woman picking Naruto's pockets as he left Ichiraku Ramen this morning…."

"Yes, that's right."

"Tell us how it happened." Beside him, Moegi opened her notebook, ready to take notes.

"Alright. When I was on my way to meet my team, I passed by Ichiraku Ramen, where I saw Naruto trying to order a meal when Haruno Sakura showed up and pulled him away. The boy was being really loud because he hadn't had his breakfast yet. Then, just as they were reaching a corner, this woman appeared and fell on Naruto. It was rather embarrassing; my first thought was to go over there to help them. But then I noticed the woman's hand dip into Naruto's jacket pocket. I distinctly remembered her hand was open when she reached in, and it was closed when she removed it. I stayed where I was, and I watched her slipping her hand into her own jacket pocket while Sakura helped her and Naruto up."

"So you're sure the lady took something out of Naruto's pocket."

"Yes, I'm sure."

"There's always the possibility that she didn't have anything in her hands. For all we know, the whole accident you witnessed was just that—an accident."

"Yes, I've thought of that. That was why I hesitated; I had to make sure something really happened. So I wasn't surprised when she went to the ramen house and made an order of ramen."

"And that was when you made your move."

"That's correct. I went over to the ramen house and confronted her. I told her she stole the coupon she was using from Naruto."

"Are you sure the coupon she used was from Naruto?"

"I'm positive it came from him. I've seen him order food before. When he pays for his order, he brings out a frog-shaped coin purse and uses coins. He doesn't use paper bills because he likes his purse to grow round and heavy like a big frog. That's why he doesn't put coupons in it; it would be hard to get and would probably tatter inside anyway. He hides his coupons in a different place."

A waiter arrived with three cups of tea and a plate of dango and set them on the table. Moegi seized a stick and ate, grateful for the break. After a minute, Ebisu resumed looking at the notes he made from the previous interview. "According to the waitress at Ichiraku Ramen, the lady denied your accusation."

Kurenai nodded. "It's only natural, right? And it's also what I expected her to do. If she really didn't steal the coupon, she would at least prove it's actually hers. But she just blew me off, even after I told her I saw her put her hands in Naruto's pocket. She just walked away after that."

"I see; there was denial, but no resolution."

"She avoided confrontation. That's what made me more suspicious of her."

"So what did you do then?"

"I followed her to the corner where I first saw her; that's when she started running. I chased her over rooftops, on the streets. I was hoping to drive her to the village gates, but she escaped when we arrived at the waterway."

Ebisu leaned forward. "She escaped? Did that woman have any clan or village emblem on her?"

"No, she didn't."

"Could she be an academy dropout?"

Kurenai shook her head. "No dropout would have high level shinobi skills as she had. I was able to grab her before we reached the bridge, but she used Kawarimi No Jutsu on me." She paused, head lowered. "She…switched with a big tuna then pushed me into the water with it."

Moegi's jaw dropped at that point. Ebisu had trouble adjusting his spectacles. "The woman replaced herself with a big fish and put you into the water."

"Yes, that's what happened."

Moegi struggled to hide her disapproval._ She had high level shinobi skills, huh? Yeah right! She got away 'cuz you weren't careful!_

Ebisu grunted. Her detachment was one more thing to admire about Kurenai. Where other people would make excuses and put a spin on a humiliating circumstance, she would just say it out loud, just as it was. She did not stutter here, nor did her voice waver or soften. She was not a poker face, though; staring at her, he could see color rising to her cheeks and neck, making her all the more breathtaking.

He finished his tea and dango; this interview was almost done. "I can see the incident is still bothering you. An unidentified woman with shinobi abilities is lurking somewhere in Konoha, and although you were about to apprehend her she somehow managed to escape your grasp. Do you hold yourself responsible for letting her get away?"

"Yes, I do. Looking back, I should've gone to her the instant I saw her pick Naruto's pocket. It wouldn't have caused such a commotion that way."

Kurenai was still holding her empty teacup. Ebisu enclosed her hands with his.

"The law doesn't require us to recompense a victim for stolen items as small as a free ramen coupon, Kurenai-san. But I think you know who to apologize to once this case is solved."

She smiled. "Thanks."

Ebisu and Moegi got up and said goodbye to the jounin. With the interview done, they walked back to the Hokage Building.

"Jenny," Moegi muttered under her breath. Ebisu looked at her. "Kurenai-sensei's a jenny."

"How nice of you to say that, Moegi. Kurenai-sensei has bad days occasionally; this is one of them." He smiled. "And I see you've worked hard to improve your vocabulary. That's good."

Moegi smiled back. _And I see _you _haven't, Ebisu-sensei.

* * *

_

_I hit a dead end. Now what do I do?_

Konohamaru stared at his empty bowl, then at Akamaru and Kiba as they finished the remaining noodles of their meal. The trail that they were doggedly following didn't go as well as they had hoped. It took a disappointing turn when it ended at Ichiraku Ramen, because the scent Akamaru picked up was Ayame's, who packed the bowl. So they stopped for a few minutes to have a snack, and Konohamaru took a few group photos of everyone at the ramen house for documentation purposes.

Sniffing should have worked. The fact that Akamaru found the assistant proved the point. After all, she only held the package for a minute before handing it over to the woman who ordered it. But the woman who held the box much longer left no scent at all. How did she hide it? Was she using gloves? No, Ayame said the lady didn't. And gloves left their own scents, right? He was uncertain. If only Udon-kun were around. He would know the answer. But Udon-kun was back at the Hokage Building, finishing the analysis of his data, with all the cool technical stuff only he knew how to use. And Moegi-chan and Ebisu-sensei were probably done with their interviews and would be going to meet with the rest of the Konohamaru Corps.

And what was he doing? He was hanging around Ichiraku Ramen, feeding a legend and his dog to make up for bothering them.

"Hey kid, are you okay?" Kiba was looking at him.

He smiled. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Are you sure? It seems to me your world's about to end."

"Well, it's just that this tracking thing didn't go very well; I feel really bad about that. Sorry, Kiba-san."

"I feel bad about that too, but it's not our fault, is it? It's just one of those things that can't be helped."

Konohamaru found he had nothing to say.

Kiba spoke again. "You're my junior, right? Call me sempai. I'm your sempai, and you're my kohai. Feel better now?" Konohamaru nodded; his expression began to lighten. "Good. Now listen to your sempai: you made a mistake. So what? Are you gonna let that stop you? Did you really think that getting the answers would be that easy?"

"No…."

"That's right, nothing's always easy. If you can't find the answer, you keep trying until you do. Even if you have to start over, you must keep trying. Is that clear?"

Konohamaru sat straight. "Yes, sempai!"

"Alright! So, what are you gonna do now?"

"I'm starting over, Kiba-sempai!" Konohamaru's morale was at an all-time high, now.

Kiba nodded. "That's good, because when I first met you, you didn't want Akamaru to touch that ramen bowl of yours because it's evidence. You can still find something in it."

_Ramen bowl?_

Konohamaru slapped his forehead. "Oh man, I forgot about our evidence! I have to bring it back to headquarters for analysis!" He grabbed the plastic bag from the bar table and was about to jump off his seat, but then he stopped. _Maybe I should get something for the others,_ he wondered. _Yeah, I really should do that…._

Slamming his hand on the table, he cried out, "I want four bowls of miso chashu to go! I got four hungry mouths to feed!"

The old cook answered, "Yo! Four miso chashu to go!"

"Kiba-sempai, can Akamaru stay with me for a while longer? I could still use some help with the order I made."

Kiba turned to face the dog. "Oi Akamaru, wanna go with him?" Akamaru barked a reply; Kiba scratched his head. "Well, okay, I guess…."

And so several minutes later the genin and the dog scampered off together to the Hokage Building, carrying four boxes of freshly cooked ramen between them. Minutes afterwards, exhausted but in good spirits, they were near the main gate, where Moegi and Ebisu were about to enter.

"Oi! Moegi-chan! Ebisu-sensei!"

The jounin and his partner stopped and looked back. They saw Konohamaru with his hands on his knees, catching his breath. Moegi waved at him.

"Konohamaru-chan!"

Akamaru barked in greeting as he and Konohamaru walked to meet them. Ebisu said, "How did your investigation go?"

"Great," Konohamaru replied, and began to relate the progress of their work, from Udon's data collection to Kiba's appearance and Akamaru's scent tracking at Ichiraku Ramen. Then Ebisu and Moegi shared their findings from their interviews with Ayame and Kurenai.

Konohamaru grinned. "We're doing good work so far; we can finalize everything once we've got the information we need to solve the case." He gave the plastic bag to Moegi. "Udon-kun still needs to examine this evidence. Would you like to switch partners? There's one more thing I need to work out with Ebisu-sensei."

"Sure."

"Thanks, Moegi-chan. Oh, wait," Konohamaru took out his camera and shot a picture of Ebisu and Moegi, then handed it over to her. "Have the film developed, too."

"Got it. Do your best!" And the girl scurried inside to meet Udon.

Konohamaru looked at Ebisu. "Sensei, let's go to the rooftop. I want to do a little experiment."

* * *

The Hokage Building's basement lodged the storage chambers, a darkroom and several spare rooms that could be reserved for special use. Moegi entered the room Udon had requested for his team after dropping Konohamaru's film off at the darkroom to have it developed. That room had been converted into a makeshift crime research laboratory. On one of the tables Udon placed a small sandbox filled with dry soil, a bucket of water and some eyedroppers. He himself was working on another table, which held the transparencies he used in the alley as well as a pile of footwear catalogues.

"Hi, Udon-chan. How's it going?"

Udon looked up from one of the catalogues. "Pretty well, I guess. I was able to get some of the footprints from the alley; now I'm trying to see how to identify the missing lady from the kind of sandals she used."

He showed one of the transparencies to her. The print it held was large and had wavy striations at the toe, sole and heel sections. "This print is from a man's sandal. Based on the ergonomic style of the tread, I'd say it's a regular, commercial-type sandal. Now look at this one," he said, pulling another transparency over. "Does it look familiar to you?"

She nodded. "Uh-huh, it's a military sandal."

"That's right; it came from an industrial-strength, all-terrain shinobi sandal. According to estimates, around 85 to 90 percent of the people in Konoha wear this type of footwear everyday, either as standard issue or as surplus merchandise."

"But that isn't the only type of sandal I have," she protested.

"That's because only 5 percent own only this kind; the other 95 percent own at least one other pair of a different kind. Remember the Third Hokage? I don't think he ever wore this type at all."

She sneered. "Maybe you just don't remember because you were a kid then."

"Hello! He died just over two years ago, duh!" Udon retorted.

"Haller! That was almost **_three_** years ago, and three years is too long to remember!"

Udon sighed. Moegi liked to think of her self as the girl with the sexiness of an adult, perhaps so much so that she made a point to forget anything connected to her academy years. Why was she in such a rush to grow up? She had a great time at the Academy, didn't she?

He had to let her remark pass, however. Although it would've been fun to accept her challenge and continue with the argument, now was not the time.

"Anyway, I've been checking the size of this sandal, but something seems to be wrong with it." He brought out a chart of footwear sizes and pointed to two consecutive measurements from the women's category. "It seems to land somewhere between these two sizes. The problem is that Konoha doesn't seem to supply shinobi sandals of that size. I'm thinking it's probably custom made."

She sneered again. "Shows how much you know! Nobody makes custom designed shinobi sandals. Those sandals aren't from Konoha at all."

He gaped at her, incredulous. "W-what do you mean they aren't from Konoha?"

"All of those catalogs you're reading are from Fire Country, aren't they? No wonder you can't find the answer!" She pointed to the sandal print. "Wind Country follows a different standard for sizing. That's where those sandals came from."

"Wait, how do you know—?"

Moegi smiled then. "My other pair of sandals came from Wind Country. Naturally, I got a few footwear catalogs from there, too. I even got a conversion chart for size measurements."

_Leave it to Moegi when you really need help,_ Udon thought. He had to admit, she solved a really tricky part of their problem.

She continued. "So, since that print is from a shinobi sandal, the sandals must have come from Wind Country's hidden village."

"Then the missing lady came from Sand Village?"

"Either that, or she's been from there."

"The Kazekage's sister drops by pretty often recently because of the upcoming Chuunin Exams," Udon mused. "But she hasn't come back since our leader Naruto's last mission."

"But our leader and his teammate arrived from there, and he loves ramen. It's not hard to draw the logical conclusion," she teased.

"We're not done with all the evidence yet," he reminded Moegi.

"Oh, that reminds me," she said, laying the bag of ramen on the table. "Konohamaru-chan wants you to have this."

"Finally, it's here!" Udon took the bag and went to another table. "Where is he, by the way?"

"He's with Ebisu-sensei."

"Okay, we'll talk to him later. Can you get me that ink there?"

"What are you planning to do, get some fingerprints from the bowl? Even though it's wet and has been smearing around with the noodles and stuff? I'd think the noodles would wipe off any fingerprints."

"Don't jump to conclusions. Just hand me that ink."

"Whatever." Moegi shrugged and went to retrieve the cake of dried writing ink as Udon lifted the ramen bowl out of the plastic bag. In a minute they would be preparing the evidence for fingerprint dusting.

* * *

"Honestly, I still don't understand what you're trying to prove here, Young Master," Ebisu exclaimed as he, Konohamaru and Akamaru stood at the rooftop of the Hokage Building. The circular area was bounded by steel railings and six broad, thin pillars arching towards each other high above.

"We're just gonna do a little experiment, sensei; that's all." Konohamaru was wearing latex gloves; four boxes of ramen were stacked beside him and four birdcages with detachable bottoms sat by his other side. "I just wanna know why a dog can't follow a woman's scent. Don't you think that's strange?"

"I'm sure there are plenty of ways to mask a person's odor," Ebisu replied, performing a hand seal. Immediately, three kage bunshin appeared in puffs of smoke.

"Sure, but what for? Why go through all the trouble for a bowl of ramen, right? Akamaru, go hide yourself," Konohamaru ordered. The dog went off to a pillar away from their location so he would not see what was happening. The genin then took a bowl of ramen from its box and handed it to Ebisu, who lined up with his clones.

Konohamaru nodded. "Okay, Akamaru! We're ready!" at the call, the shinobi hound ran to the front and barked at Ebisu. The jounin then gave the bowl back to the boy, who opened a birdcage and placed the bowl inside. Then he gave another bowl to a clone as Akamaru loped back to his pillar.

"Our mission is to find an injured woman who ran into an abandoned alley. Why do we have to find her? What did she do anyway? Why did she have to disappear? All she left was her footprints and a bowl of ramen."

"Young Master, you're just making it harder for yourself."

"Well, there's nothing easy about this case. Think about it; if she's really a shinobi on a mission, wouldn't causing a commotion be the last thing she'd want to do?" Akamaru went and barked at the clone that held the bowl. Konohamaru placed it in another cage and gave the third bowl to another clone. Pretty soon all four bowls were caged.

Konohamaru went on as he made notes. "You know the strangest thing? It's that, after that wild chase with Kurenai-sensei and that run-in with that bull, the box she held spilled on the alley. It didn't spill anywhere else."

"Pardon me, I'm not following you." Ebisu and his kage bunshin picked up the cages and lined them up in front of Konohamaru, scrambling their order.

"What if the ramen _was_ her mission? What if she disappeared _because_ she lost her order?"

Akamaru walked to the young genin's side.

"Hey boy, ready for the next test?"

The dog barked.

"Alright, that's great! Show me the bowl that Ebisu-sensei was holding."

Akamaru went to the cages, sniffing at the bowls. In a few moments he stopped in front of the second cage to Konohamaru's right side. Konohamaru nodded and made notes. Ebisu carried the cage away.

"Good, you found the first bowl. Now, the second bowl was held by one of sensei's clones." That particular clone waved his hand to identify himself. "I want you to find that bowl."

This time, it took the poor dog over a couple of minutes to choose among the caged bowls. The clone removed the cage, while Konohamaru noted the answer down.

"Okay, which is the third bowl?"

Again, Akamaru lingered a couple minutes more before sitting in front of the leftmost cage. The genin wrote down his notes and faced his tutor.

"Akamaru was correct with the first item. He was wrong with the other three. Uh, could one of you guys come forward?" A clone stepped forward. Konohamaru brought out a kunai and cut the clone's palm, allowing the blood to coat the blade and puddle on the roof. "Thanks, sensei. We're done."

The clones disappeared in smoke as Ebisu cancelled his jutsu. Staring at his kunai and the spot where the blood fell, Konohamaru made his final note and put his notebook away.

"The blood's gone," he said. "Our missing lady's a kage bunshin."

* * *

The Konohamaru Corps members sat around a table in the basement room. With most of the data they gathered right in front of them, they prepared themselves for the final phase of their mission.

Konohamaru spoke first. "I hope you liked the ramen, guys." Everybody laughed; whatever tension there was in the air dissipated. "That was the reward for all the hard work we've done today. This is the first investigative mission our team's conducted, and I believe what we did was terrific for newbies."

The rest of the team nodded. Ebisu smiled inwardly, pleased at Konohamaru was growing as a leader. It was hard to believe that only a few years ago he was a spoiled brat whose sole ambition was to defeat his grandfather and take the name of Hokage.

"Udon-kun, is this all the evidence we gathered?"

"Nope, we're still waiting for the fingerprints to be identified."

"The records section said we'll get the results in an hour," Moegi piped in. "Not that it would matter, huh, Konohamaru-chan?"

"That's right." He leaned back in his chair, cradling his hands behind his head. "The answer's so obvious!"

"You're jumping to conclusions, Young Master."

"Well, who else could it be, Ebisu-sensei?"

"Be that as it may, I'll still need to summarize our investigation for our report."

"Yeah," Udon agreed. "We're lucky the ramen box was greasy enough to hold two sets of fingerprints instead of one. The second one had better not be yours."

"Alright, alright, let's do the summary." Konohamaru glanced at his notebook. Then he began:

"The Fifth Hokage gave us a mission to find a woman who disappeared in an alley after being hurt by a stampeding bull. The only clues she left were her body prints and a bowl of ramen spilled on the ground. Based on the evidence that we've gathered, this is what we can say:

"First, the lady seemed to be headed towards the direction of Konoha's training grounds before she disappeared. That area is usually where Team Seven would meet for their training and missions. The alley where she was last seen would've been the shortest direction to there.

"Second, the ramen the lady bought was not her own. That is to say, the coupon she used to pay for the ramen apparently belonged to Uzumaki Naruto.

"Third, the speed of her operation is unusually fast, meaning she knew Naruto. She knew exactly which pocket the coupon was found, she knew exactly where to find him.

"Fourth, the lady herself was a kage bunshin. A kage bunshin has no scent, and leaves no blood. It can carry objects with it, but has to leave that object when it vanishes. But it can leave its own impression, fingerprints included.

"So what does all this mean? It means that there's no point in looking for the missing lady anymore. Following the principle of looking underneath the underneath, the most important item we have overlooked is the ramen itself.

"These are the questions we can answer about the ramen, based on our evidence: First, whose ramen is it? Obviously, it's Naruto-niichan's.

"Second, what is it doing in the alley? A kage bunshin brought it there to give it to him. Or at least, it tried to. It would've gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for that meddling do-gooder who followed it there.

"Third, why is it spilled on the ground? Somebody kicked it. Mr. Lovestruck Nice Guy should've watched where he was going when he ran for help.

"Fourth, who's going to pay for it? That's obvious; it's Kurenai-sensei."

Moegi shot up from her seat. "That is **_so_** wrong, Konohamaru-chan! The guy who kicked it should pay for it! It's his fault our leader didn't get his food."

"Well, yeah, but she did say she was responsible for letting the lady get away. Contributions are always welcome," Konohamaru grinned.

Ebisu cleared his throat. "If one of the fingerprints is indeed Naruto's, then I say he gets nothing. The whole noodle snatch fiasco was clearly his idea, so it's his fault it failed. Furthermore, he should also apologize to all the people he disturbed for causing a ruckus, especially to Kurenai-sensei for traumatizing her."

The entire Konohamaru Corps glared at him. He could feel a huge bead of sweat rolling from the back of his neck. Was the room getting hot?

"That is **_so_** mean, Ebisu-sensei!"

"Yeah, you don't treat our leader Naruto like that!"

"Moegi-chan, I only said 'if'—"

"Or maybe you have something else in mind, sensei you closet pervert!" Konohamaru leered. "'Oh, I'm _so_ sorry, Kurenai-san, let's just kiss and make out!'"

"Eew!"

Moegi blanched. "K-Konohamaru-chan!"

Ebisu shot up from his seat. "I am **not** a closet pervert!** I** am a **_gentleman!_**"

There was a knock on the door just then. A shinobi entered, carrying a small manila envelope. Udon took it and brought it to the table.

"Even if Naruto-niichan's fingerprint was on the ramen box, I still say Kurenai-sensei pays for the bowl. She caused the riot. She delayed his clone from reaching him; heck, she even chased it to the opposite direction of the training grounds!"

"Young Master, why do you insist Naruto should be absolved of this crime?"

"What crime? Naruto-niichan stole the coupon from himself; nobody died. The bull was an accident. Who disturbed the peace? Kurenai-sensei did."

By this time Udon had opened the envelope and peered at its contents. He handed it over to Konohamaru. Ebisu's voice rose with exasperation.

"How could you even be **_sure_** Naruto did all this? You haven't even looked at the fingerprints yet!"

"Who else would've done it? Who else would've used a kage bunshin that way? Who else could've done a Sexy No Jutsu to hide his identity? Who else could've escaped from a jounin so easily? Who else would go through the extremes just for a single bowl of ramen?" Konohamaru's face glowed with admiration. "Admit it, sensei, this is Naruto-niichan's signature. And this," he pulled out the sheet of paper in the envelope and waved it, "would prove it."

He read the results on the paper. His eyes bugged out.

**_"What the—?"_**

**_

* * *

_**

Konohamaru was fuming as he stepped out the gates of the Hokage Building. His entire assumption about the case was wrong, and boy did he hate that. How could he have been wrong? Everything he observed in the investigation pointed to the only possible conclusion. No one else would have made such a big deal out of an empty stomach, not even the legendary Meat Tank, Akimichi Chouji.

And then that fingerprint came out. A kage bunshin would not have a unique fingerprint as its own; it would have the same pattern as its creator. And although a Sexy No jutsu clone could wear a different outfit, often the footwear was ignored so it also wore the same type as the original. Did Naruto-niichan get a new pair of sandals from Sand Village? Konohamaru doubted that; he didn't seem to be too fidgety about what he put on his feet.

But how did it come to this? Somebody else did exactly what Naruto would have done, and failed exactly the way only he would have failed. True, there was no crime committed, but Konohamaru was so sure he could give all the credit to his idol and rival; yet somebody had stolen his thunder. Nobody should have done that! Naruto-niichan was unique! He and Konohamaru were close! They shared the same ambition, even the same jutsu that was the only one of its kind!

Now even the Sexy No Jutsu was taken away. How could have that monster done this! How dare she!

His pace grew faster as his thoughts flew furiously; soon he arrived at a shop. It had an electric sign standing to its left; it showed a square divided into two triangular sections, red on top, yellow at the bottom. He knocked at the door, hoping that the one he was looking for had arrived from training.

There was never a time that he intentionally sought her out, until now. Already he was breaking into cold sweat at the thought of the dangers of meeting with her, but he knew it must be done. Ebisu-sensei and the others would have completed the report by now, but he needed to hear it from her; there was one final question he wanted answered.

Haruno Sakura opened the door. The expectant look on her face changed to suspicion the instant her gaze met his.

"Oh, it's you," she sniffed disdainfully. "What do you want?"

"We know what you did." Konohamaru could barely control the anger and fear in his voice.

She arched an eyebrow. "What did I do?"

He pointed a finger at her accusingly. "You bought a bowl of ramen at Ichiraku by stealing Naruto-niichan's coupon!"

"Really?" Sakura came out from the door, her hands on her waist. "Now why would I do that?"

"I was hoping you're gonna tell me."

"Why do you even say I did it?"

"We have evidence! We know the story. You woke up too early for your meeting with Kakashi-sensei over the bridge. You couldn't get back to sleep, so you got dressed and went out. On the way to your usual meeting place, you passed by Ichiraku Ramen where you saw Naruto-niichan ordering his breakfast. You pulled him away and took him with you before he could even give his coupon to the waitress or the cook. He started to whine about his food. You saw him place his coupon back in his jacket pocket.

"So what did you do? You created a kage bunshin and it transformed into a different-looking woman so no one would recognize it. The clone fell over him as you two reached a corner. Using that as a distraction, the clone pulled out Niichan's coupon and bought a bowl as soon as you left. Kurenai-sensei saw what happened and tried to stop it. The clone ignored her and left to go to the bridge where you and Niichan would be waiting. Kurenai-sensei followed the clone but it escaped at the waterway.

"After hiding for a couple of hours your clone tried to go to the training grounds this time, because it knew Kakashi sensei, Naruto-niichan and you would be there by then to practice your skills. Along the way, a bull got spooked and stampeded. It crashed into your clone. The clone survived and ran to an alley for a shortcut. The alley was a dead end. The clone tried to climb or jump over it but the wall closing it was too high and the clone was too weak. A man saw the accident and followed the clone into the alley. He helped it sit down and ran to find help. He kicked the ramen box as he ran out. Goodbye ramen! Mission failed! And the clone vanished."

Sakura turned her eyes away for a moment. "That's what happened."

Confused, Konohamaru had to pause. "Huh?"

"She should have reached us at the bridge. We waited for hours for Kakashi sensei to arrive; I even waited at the training grounds, but I didn't find out until it was too late."

"You mean you _knew? _How did you know?"

"Why should I tell you?" She snapped. "I just knew."

"**_Aha!_** So you admit it!" Konohamaru cried triumphantly, pointing at Sakura again.

"Admit to what?"

"Come off it! Your fingerprints were on the box; your footprints were all over the alley! Don't tell me you didn't do it!"

"Alright, I did it! Are you happy now? Sheesh," Sakura huffed. "It's not a big deal anyway," she grumbled.

Konohamaru blew his top. **_"Not a big deal?"_**

The words cleared his mind; he lost his momentum, his indignation all but disappeared. Seconds passed in silence. Each knew they had to say something but they couldn't find the words. At last he spoke up.

"I'm impressed you pulled it off. Nobody suspected it was you who did it, not even me. When the Fifth Hokage gave us this mission, I really believed that Naruto-niichan was the culprit. All the details—the ramen, the kage bunshin, the sexy lady—everything told me that it was done by only one person, and that was not you. But everything went wrong when we discovered your fingerprint. Some theory it turned out to be, huh?"

Konohamaru went on. "Tell me, when did you learn Kage Bunshin No Jutsu? No, wait, I already know; of course the Fifth taught you. You're a chuunin now, and you're receiving training under the Fifth herself. She'd probably be glad to teach you a forbidden technique if she knew you could handle it. That's too easy.

"That Sexy No Jutsu you used really surprised me, though. I didn't know you had it in you to actually ask _him_ to teach you that technique. I always thought a girl like you would find it too perverse to learn, let alone to use."

Sakura shook her head, confused. "Why are you telling me this? Why are you asking me about that technique?"

"It's because you used Naruto-niichan's favorite moves to get his favorite food! You didn't have to do that, so why did you do it? Don't tell me you hadn't had breakfast, either!"

Sakura hesitated a bit. When she spoke, her voice was restrained.

"I-it wasn't for me…. It was for Naruto."

Konohamaru was stunned.

"It was for him? But you already took him away from Ichiraku Ramen."

"Yeah, I know that. I thought of letting him go back, but it was kind of too late to do that, wasn't it?" She smiled weakly. Konohamaru's face remained impassive. "Naruto could have had as many as five bowls and still arrive on time, because it was that early. But I couldn't take back what I did; that would be humiliating. Then I thought, 'If I get his breakfast for him, he'll feel better. He can eat while we wait, and it'll be a surprise for him.' So that's when I came up with the idea…."

"So that's it? You did it to save face?"

"O-of course not! I did it because he was hungry! I didn't want him to go hungry…."

"I can _see_ you didn't want him to go hungry. _Why?_"

Sakura did not reply. Her face seemed to redden as she looked away. Whether it was the setting sun or a trick of the shop's light, Konohamaru did not care. But he did notice the corner of her lips curve up slightly.

She shrugged. "Looks like I owe him a bowl of ramen, huh? I can ask him tonight…." Her face was much redder now. It must really be getting late!

"Stay away from him."

"Huh?"

"He doesn't deserve a punishment like you, whatever he did."

"_**Excuse me—?"**_

Konohamaru pulled his lower eyelid down and stuck his tongue out at Sakura. **_"Ha!"_**

"_**Why you—!"**_

It was like staring into the face of death itself, and knowing Sakura, Konohamaru might as well be. He stepped back as she advanced on him, cracking her knuckles, baring her fangs (he was sure they were fangs, the biggest and sharpest he'd seen), staring at him with two small, round circles that seemed eager to devour his soul. But just as she was about to pounce, he turned tail and ran, with Sakura chasing after him. It was only for a minute, though; she was content with driving him away and stopped when he turned a corner and disappeared.

And Konohamaru scampered off, back to the Hokage Building where Udon, Moegi and Ebisu-sensei would be waiting for him.

-30-


End file.
